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PLOT OR PREMISE

A reporter, Liam Mulligan, investigates a series of arsons around his hometown.

WHAT I LIKED

Mulligan makes an intriguing sleuth, and he has lots of interesting characters running around the woodwork. He is far from Sherlock Holmes, nor is he Spenser for Hire taking on the tough guys. A bit more Donald Lam or Trace…slightly incompetent, but not Plum-funny. His partners-in-sleuthing are generally good.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

There are quite a few “foreshadowing” hints dropped, and it made me figure me well-in-advance sometimes when certain things were likely to happen and how. Although, to be fair, a couple never happened (red herrings). And I thought the bad guys were all relative obvious for the overall plot and motive.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

A decent introduction of a new sleuth

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

Kottler reflects on the literature and personal experiences as a psychologist about the elements that lead people to not only make changes in their life but also sustain those changes over the long-term

WHAT I LIKED

I had the pleasure of hearing Kottler speak as an honoured guest at my wife’s university graduation ceremony, and he intrigued me enough on the subject of “change” — what we know and what we don’t know — that I bought his book. It was the perfect book for me at this point in my life, as I’ve been wanting to make a significant change that has been holding me back for at least 30 years. I’m great at the day to day goal-setting stuff, but I needed to understand large scale change on a deeper level, and this book was ideal for that education. At the beginning, I was struck by a central question — when does an alteration in attitudes, beliefs, behaviour, thinking, or feeling “count” as change, and how long does it have to last in order to qualify? In shorter terms, when does a temporary change become permanent and sustainable? Chapter 2 was an eye-opener — hidden benefits from my current approach that resist change. Not the obvious ones but more internal ones that might even seem like positive traits in someone (being strong, standing up for oneself disguising some issues with temper, for instance). And some baby step coping techniques. Chapter 3 dealt more with the conditions that allow you to transition from temporary to permanent change, almost pre-conditions in some cases. Other chapters were relatively straight-forward: the power of story-telling (chapter 4); hitting bottom in various forms (chapter 5); how you react to trauma and whether it can be a positive catalyst (chapter 6); the limits to psychotherapy (chapter 7); change through physical travel or spiritual journeys (chapter 8); moments of clarity (chapter 9); and resolving conflicts in relationships (chapter 13). The last chapter — Why Changes Don’t Often Last (Chapter 14) — was one that I was most looking forward in the book, and while he goes into various spins and examples, most of it seems to come down to varying forms of fear. It certainly did for me, and I find the chapter fantastic for presenting it quite concisely. In the end, the price of the book is worth it just to get the 7 pages at the end, if you have time for nothing else (308-315). I managed to use it create a six-part “to do” list / game plan for the change that I’ve been wanting to make, and for the first time in my life, I’m doing it. I’m six months in and it seems to be holding. It’ll take another 18 months to “finish”, but the book helped me get there. Onward to the journey!

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Several chapters didn’t really sing as well as the rest. Being happy (chapter 11) and transformation while helping others (12) were relatively bland, and a chapter on the importance of social capital (chapter 10) seemed almost like an afterthought.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

It gave me the courage to get unstuck after 30 years

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

The textbook-sized book includes ten case studies across America where former big box stores – Walmarts and Kmarts – have been put to new use after the store left or closed.

WHAT I LIKED

I was drawn to the premise of the book as I have frequently seen large big box stores in Canada, anchoring malls and plazas, move out and languish empty for a number of years. Sometimes it is a short time and another retailer moves in. Sometimes it is a long time, and it looks like urban blight. Rarely have I seen much in the way of “good news” around these sites, and I was intrigued with the idea of a series of case studies where the stores aren’t just languishing empty, but have been put to reuse.

From a policy perspective, the first thing that jumped out at me was that the stores were not all empty because the store “failed”. While the Kmarts closed, most of the Walmarts moved to larger facilities…instead of trying to renovate an existing space (and losing revenue while it was being renovated), they built a whole new store, sometimes just across the road. Secondly, I liked some of the challenges and opportunities that go with the store’s design…they are primarily utilitarian empty boxes. Which means they can be anything you want them to be, except perhaps attractive (usually). Beyond these first two, some other issues that I liked were some of the restrictions the former store put on future use when selling the land (lease restrictions to prevent competition for instance); local ordinances that were hard-learned lessons about responsibilities of the owner when the boxes are being built with a view to future reuse (accessibility, divisibility of the interior space, extra doors, etc.) or eventual removal if it sits empty too long; the short-term reuse by other types of businesses (like an indoor racetrack) until the lease restrictions ease at 10 years and the subsequent eviction of those temporary tenants in favour of larger more profitable retailers; the use of some of the properties as “land banks” to use the land for SOMETHING while waiting until the value increases; the importance of time frame for assessing success as some of the reuses look great initially but weren’t sustainable; the importance of interior and exterior aesthetics to the new users and the public; the consideration of the location not just as a “building” but as tied to the infrastructure around it – utilities, parking, accessibility to good transportation routes, etc; and the potential for complicated types of real-estate deals in place to address if you want to reuse something – current lease holder, building owner, and a land owner.

I think my favorite chapter was one that looked at a reuse of a Walmart box by three seniors services organizations who co-located into one building, and the place was thriving. Equally, I saw potential in the reuse by a few Charter schools and a couple of other “startup” organizations who couldn’t afford to build their own building, at least not initially, but could afford to lease a space, get up and running, earn some revenue, save up, and then buy the building, while slowly expanding their use throughout the space. A library project took the “challenge” of being in a big box and turned it into a way to engage the community (a common challenge to face together, which built support for the project). Finally, there is a chapter on converting the box store into a church, and not just in one location, it has happened in lots of places.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

I was a bit disappointed that the book only looks at Kmart and Walmart stores, as they all have a very specific type of footprint, which would in some ways limit their reuse. Multiple sizes of stores might have more interesting reuses. I was also disappointed with the lack of much other context – how does big box reuse compare to gentrification of factory districts, how do the issues that crop up with historic buildings compare with the issues of more modern box stores, how do they compare with issues when converting schools or churches to other uses? A couple of the chapters are throwaway chapters for me as they are not truly reuse. One looks at a courthouse that took over the space, but just razed the building and built something new; another only used the parking lot; and another just had other types of retailers in the space.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

An interesting series of case studies for a common modern day problem

MY RATING

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

A collection of decent stories.

WHAT I LIKED

Two stories stand out. Fatal Accident deals with a cop on vacation who sees a car wreck in front of him where the wife dies. When he tries to follow up with the hospitalized driver, the driver is more worried about people looking at the car than the wife. The cop’s instincts say murder. Not quite as solid but memorable is Crime of Omission, where a man consumed by jealousy is trying to convince himself to kill his best friend/wife’s lover while up at the cottage in the winter. Can he do it? Will he have to? Nice twist ending, although kind of campy.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Nothing bad stands out.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Solid collection

MY RATING

Original: March 12, 2000

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him / her on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

A collection of Ellery Queen stories.

WHAT I LIKED

A few of the stories really stand out…Mind Over Matter with the death of a boxer just after a fight; The Inner Circle with a combination investment fund and deadpool; The Dauphin’s Doll with the planned theft of a doll collection; and the Three Widows with one of them slowly being poisoned. The Glass-domed Clock and Man Bites Dog are also pretty well-done.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

A few places where the story creates a red herring through vague wording, but not obnoxious.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

A good collection indeed.

MY RATING

Original: March 12, 2000

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the authors, nor do I follow them on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

A cookbook disguised as a novel.

WHAT I LIKED

Nothing

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

It was ADVERTISED as a combination of a cookbook with stories about Dr. Kay Scarpetta, and in that light, it fails on all counts. There IS no story, and nothing happening in the non-story — and worse still, none of the characters act like they do in the novels. The recipes are interesting, but basically this book was issued for one reason and one reason only — to milk some money out of the fans and to give them almost nothing in return.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Worthless

MY RATING

Original: October 10, 1999

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

A young boy loses his mother, sister and brother to an apparent killing spree of his father. Years later, an author tracks down the boy, now a man with a wife and son, and asks him to remember the details of their last few months together.

WHAT I LIKED

The basic plot is somewhat interesting in that it deals with the young boy’s impressions of life, now recolored and filtered through the eyes of an adult, and the sudden realizations of what he actually saw and heard of adult conversations which made no sense at the time, but are all too clear now. A reinterpretation of history, in a sense, that allows the context to show more clearly than a simple linear telling might have done.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Two aspects stand out as negative factors. First, there is the telling of the story. At the beginning, it seems far too disjointed, and the continuous references to the future to build suspense actually fall flat. Secondly, there is a sense of detachment throughout the story, almost a clinical feel that keeps you removed from the main character and limits the novel to simply “telling” the story rather than having the reader “live” it through the eyes and actions of the characters. The fact that the ending is all too predictable is not necessarily a negative factor in this story, as it doesn’t detract from an interesting read into the psyche of a slowly disintegrating family, and there are twists at the end that show the dangers of reinterpreting history from a cracked lens. Not everything happens the way the little grey cells remember, nor the way reality would tend to dictate.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Not everything happens the way you remember

MY RATING

Original: October 11, 1999

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

The Voyager crew are separated from the ship and captured by an alien race. The crew are placed in a prison camp full of various races. While awaiting rescue by Captain Janeway, the members tell stories from their pasts to each other at night to help pass the time.

WHAT I LIKED

Chakotay’s tale is of his rejection of his tribe’s ways and embracing the Starfleet ideals, and then joining the Maquis to chase the Cardassians. Harry Kim’s focuses on his privileged upbringing, discovering Starfleet hikers, meeting Boothbie, and his rough adjustment at the Academy. Kes’ tale is a bit odd, seems off from her character on the show, but covers her short life before meeting Neelix (told through some sort of psychic link with her essence that has already left Voyager) including pushing the Elders to reveal the history of the Caretaker and her decision to explore the surface. Tuvok’s backstory includes his double career with Starfleet, namely first joining Starfleet as a young man, and then leaving Starfleet, returning home to raise a family, having a spiritual quest in the desert, and deciding to rejoin Starfleet, reviewing Janeway’s first mission as part of his duties, and then being posted to her ship only to butt heads repeatedly with her over her impulsive nature.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

I wasn’t totally comfortable with B’Elanna’s story about never being part of the life of either Klingons or humans, her decision to leave Starfleet Academy and work on a freighter, and meeting Chakotay and Paris in the Maquis. It seems at odds with her very Klingon personality at the start of Voyager, as if she didn’t have much experience with humans. Yet the backstory talks about even her first serious boyfriend having been human. Paris’ story doesn’t reveal much, it’s mostly rehash of excerpts from other episodes — his relationship with his Admiral father, joining Starfleet and starting a ski team, an chance to be the pilot for the Enterprise, an accident with his flight team (similar to the character he played on TNG episode with Wesley Crusher), his joining the Maquis, his imprisonment for firing on a Starfleet ship to protect the Maquis, and finally joining Voyager. Neelix’s story probably had the most potential as being different and unique, i.e. growing up on a quiet planet on the edge of war and the loss of his family and trading partners, and then meeting Voyager’s crew, but the story went nowhere.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Decent views of the various backstories.

MY RATING

Original: October 10, 1999

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

PLOT OR PREMISE

This is the first one in the Jesse Stone series. Jesse is a washed-up homicide detective from L.A. who climbed into a bottle and lost his wife to a L.A. player. But a small town in Massachusetts called Paradise recruits him as their new police chief…and Jesse jumps at it to save his own life.

WHAT I LIKED

Things are not as they appear in Paradise because the town leader has started his own little militia designed to fight back when the eventual downfall of America occurs. The previous chief of police has been sent packing and the town council wants someone they can control. Unfortunately, Jesse isn’t it. The focus of this first story is on Jesse getting sober, finding out what really happened to the last chief, finding out what is going on in Paradise with the town leader, and when he has time, figuring out what’s going on in his personal life. A refreshing change from the Spenser series because there is no Hawk and there is no Susan to back him up, there’s just him.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Vinnie and Joe from the Spenser series show up, but are more for comic relief than anything. Stone’s ex-wife and new girlfriend are more co-dependant than helpful.

THE BOTTOM LINE / TWEET

Decent start to a new Parker series.

MY RATING

Original: October 10, 1999

Legend: 1/5 Finished 2/5 Not bad 3/5 Good 4/5 Enjoyable 5/5 Excellent

DISCLOSURE

I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I was not personal friends with the author, nor did I follow him on social media.